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Warden of Korydallos jail suspended after Xeros probe

Costas Sakkas declared a fugitive after failing to report with local police

The warden of maximum-security Korydallos Prison in Athens, four prison officers and the deputy warden who was in charge of the facility on the night of December 31 have been suspended from duty on the request of Justice Minister Haralambos Athanasiou after a review revealed repeated violations of security regulations. Another 17 officials face disciplinary action.

An investigation launched after the escape of November 17 convict Christodoulos Xeros, who absconded while on furlough from the prison in January, found that he was allowed to spend New Year’s Eve with jailed members of another guerrilla group, Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, who are kept in a different wing.

According to the case file, Xeros had been allowed to move between the two wings since February 2011 in breach of restriction orders.

Meanwhile, authorities on Tuesday launched a search for Costas Sakkas, a suspected member of Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, after he failed to check in with his local police precinct in Kaminia, Piraeus, as required under the terms of his pretrial release, by midnight on Monday.

Sakkas, who is awaiting trial on charges of belonging to the group, has denied any involvement.

“We catch them on the one hand, and, on the other, they are let go,” an unnamed police officer told Skai on Tuesday.